Charlie Wilson's War (Full Screen)

Excellent movie! (2008-08-17) Rating: 5/5
This is a great movie. The acting is very good. I appreciated the insight into politics, showing a variety of deals and connections, both domestic and international. It is fascinating that the movie is based on a true story. It is not a war movie but a movie about the specifics, the nuts and bolts of politics influencing the outcome of a war in a very concrete way.
entertaining and illuminating (2008-08-14) Rating: 5/5
It's ironic that I watched this movie about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan at a time when a resurgent and newly aggressive Russia is crushing a fledgling democracy in Georgia. It made the experience all the more poignant.
Just taken as entertainment, and leaving aside the politics, I enjoyed this story of how an obscure Texas congressman known mostly for his womanizing managed to fund the Islamic resistance to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The performances were great with the one exception of the heavily-Botoxed Robert. The pace was also quite brilliant -- this movie flashed by.
Of course, the consequences for the United States are well-known and the movie alludes to this in its final few minutes. We defeated the Soviets, won the Cold War but our victory helped give birth to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
I wonder if there's a new Charlie Wilson out there to deal with today's Russian threat. Or have we lost so much in the past five years in Iraq that we no longer have the means, the will or the energy?
Recommended: entertaining and educational.
History better than Hollywood (2008-08-11) Rating: 3/5
It really is a fascinating story ... One man sees the opportunity to do what his government won't... arm/train a group of militants to fight an enemy who did the same to us for more than a decade in South East Asia. And in doing so handed the U.S.S.R its worst military defeat.

Why we needed so much sex to sell this story, I don't know.
15 minutes are missing from this DVD (2008-08-10) Rating: 1/5
Having seen this film in the theater, I was very disappointed to discover several scenes were cut from the DVD version, including one crucial one. The most crucial cut concerned the fact that President Reagan's approval was what released the Stinger missile to the Afghans.
Also cut were scenes: Charlie Wilson was sick in the Hospital; his re-elction effort; testing an ineffective missile in Egypt; any more? Anybody know why?
(I also suspect that The Princess Bride now currently shown is missing an early scene that was in the theater version, but I can't confirm this.)
I really enjoyed Julia Roberts' performance (2008-08-10) Rating: 5/5
I really enjoyed Julia Roberts' performance. Overall, this movie is interesting, funny, sharp, and again relevant to the world today.